Research & Funding

These are just a few of the sexual and reproductive health challenges that every day affect the lives of millions of Canadian women and their families and friends. Yet research into women’s health issues is seriously under funded compared to the impact those issues have on all of our lives.

That’s where the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health comes in.

At the University of British Columbia, Dr. Patricia Janssen is looking for ways to protect at-risk pregnant women from domestic violence. At the University of Ottawa, Dr. Andrée Gruslin’s research legacy could reduce widespread and often dangerous pregnancy complications for women suffering from obesity. At McMaster University, Dr. Laurie Elit is studying what adolescents know about HPV—a sexually transmitted viral infection that can cause cervical cancer—and how that knowledge affects their sexual behaviour.

These are just a few of the groundbreaking CFWH-funded research projects across Canada that are improving health for women of all ages. From menstruation to contraception, from childbirth to menopause and beyond, CFWH-supported research translates directly into improvements in the sexual and reproductive health of Canadian women.

The CFWH General Research Grant

The CFWH General Research Grants are awarded to those committed to finding solutions to the reproductive health issues that face women both in Canada and around the world. Open to any area within the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, these grants aim to help make further advancements in women’s health treatment, research, and education.

The CFWH will grant up to $20,000 for the CFWH General Research Grant.

Applicants must be affiliated with a Canadian university or health care institution able to provide ethics review in compliance with Canadian standards. Research proposals submitted must not be part of a larger project with funding from other sources and should have a time frame of two years or less. Only research projects directly related to the areas of Obstetrics and Gynaecology are considered for funding. Applicant must be a member in good standing of the Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada.

The Duchesnay International Elective Fellowships for Obstetrics and Gynaecology Resident

The Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health awards two Duchesnay fellowships every year to resident students in obstetrics and gynaecology who desire to complete an elective in a healthcare center in a developing country. The fellowships cover four to eight weeks, with the amount varying from $2,500CAD to $4,500 CAD according to the length of the elective. A $700 CAD lump-sum wil be allocated to the local supervisor of the elective.

The candidate must be a Canadian citizen, registered as a resident in obstetrics and gynaecology in a Canadian health care institution and a member of the SOGC.

The Dawn Walker Grant in support of health policy training and development for health-care professionals

Dawn Carol Walker, R.N., was able to influence public health policy through her work both within and beyond government thanks to her training as a health-care professional. This provided her not only with a depth of knowledge and experience but also insights and professional credibility that are not available to policy makers who have had no direct work experience in the health-care field. Because of her training as a nurse, Ms. Walker intrinsically understood the health and social aspects of the issues that were being considered or needed to be brought forward and, consequently, could focus her energies as a policy developer on solutions that would result in better outcomes for all.

Thanks to the Walker-Peters Family, the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health is proud to award one or more Dawn Walker grants in the total amount of $5,000 each year to health-care professionals and/or students so that they may be better prepared to contribute to the development of health care policy for children and women.

The Namesake Grants

This new category of grant was created with the goal of allowing individuals or small businesses the opportunity to become donors of grants through the CFWH whilst creating a connection between donors and researchers/ project developers in communities throughout Canada. These grants range in size and will be detailed individually.

Rubicon Pharmacy Grant:

We thank our donor, Rubicon Pharmacy in Saskatchewan for the generous donation of up to $2000 towards research or projects aimed at the betterment of women/newborn health in Northern Canada. We welcome project applications until the new deadline of April 15, 2019.

Shoppers Drug Mart Grant:

We thank our donor, Shoppers Drug Mart for the generous donation of up to $3000 towards research or projects aimed at the betterment of women/newborn health in Northern Canada. We welcome project applications until the new deadline of April 15, 2019.

Journalism Award

This award is available to be awarded to exceptional Canadian journalism relating to women’s health in Canada. This award is open to applications or nominations until May 1, 2019. The award will be announced in June 2019.

Cover letter detailing your name, address, profession and place of work

Detailed summary of the project

Copy of published or aired works related to the project

Detailed account of proposed use of funds

any other relevant materials

André Lalonde Permanent Endowment Fund

The André Lalonde Endowment Fund was established in memory of his parents, Dorima and Antoinette Lalonde. It has been endowed by Dr. André Lalonde, former Executive Vice-President, the SOGC, family members, Duchesnay Inc. and close friends of the SOGC.

The purpose of the Fund is to promote knowledge of and interest in national and international women’s health issues among Canadian health care professionals whom also serve as members of SOGC.

This is accomplished through an annual guest lectureship at the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada’s Annual Clinical and Scientific Conference; the lecture is given by an expert physician from a low resource country.

The rate of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity is still very high, especially in 67 low resource countries around the world. Most physicians from high resource countries have never experienced the plight of the women and newborns in the developing world. The lack of resources, medicine and healthcare professionals, as well as the poor quality of the existing health care systems, spell great danger for women in the poorest countries.

The Fund’s goal is to also support the Young Physician Elective Program in lower resource countries, awarding grants and bursaries to those who wish to participate. These young physicians will become ambassadors in our quest to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in the world. We hope to raise sufficient funds to provide three to five of these grants and bursaries per year.

Management of the Fund

The objective is to build the Fund to reach at least $400,000, so that the interest and investments will then sustain, in perpetuity, bursaries for students and young physicians, allowing them to work for a period of time in lower resource countries, as well as continuing to bring expert physicians from low resources countries to the International Women’s Symposium.

The Fund is managed by the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health, who provides charitable donation receipts for all contributions. The Fund Management Committee includes Dr. André Lalonde; his son Jean Lalonde; Eric Gervais, CEO of Duchesnay; the Director of the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health; and any other members added from time to time. The Committee will report on an annual basis to the committee and to SOGC members through the newsletter.

The André Lalonde Bursary for the Work of Canadian Physicians within Canada in Areas of Special Needs*

The Purpose of the Fund was expanded in 2016 to include the support of Canadian physicians wishing to, or currently working with under-serviced Canadian population. Priority will be given to the following:

Health professionals working to improve aboriginal women’s health

Health professionals working with underservice groups

practitioners working towards improvement of nutrition in pregnancy and newborns

*Please note that the distribution of bursaries for students and young physicians is scheduled to start in 2020. Make sure to come back at the beginning of 2020 for more details on the application process.

A maximum of 2 awards will be distributed per calendar year. The award will be $1,500 to the applicant and $1,000 to the institution where the work will be done. The award is determined by the review committee based on the project. A committee formed by the CFWH Chair will review all applications.

Eligibility requirements:

Projects/ Research is related to the following populations:

Under-serviced Canadian or Low Resource international populations

First Nations, Inuit Populations of Canada

Projects must last at least 6 weeks of the calendar year of the award

Successful applicants must be prepared to present their results at an agreed upon meeting such as the SOGC ACSC